Healing the world: Kenya

Healing the world: Kenya

Five-year-old Peter Otieno stands in the inside courtyard of the preschool he attends in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya on November 29, 2010. Peter is HIV positive and became infected after his mother gave birth to him. One of Kenya's main health challenges is its high levels of HIV infection, according to President Barack Obama's Global Health Initiative.

WASHINGTON — Here are facts and figures on the health challenges in Kenya and the aims of U.S. President Barack Obama's Global Healthy Initiative to address the issues:

KENYA

Total GHI spending:
FY 2009: $576 million
FY 2010: $600 million

Total population: 41 millionGDP per capita: $783

HIV rate: 6.3 percentProportion of women who die in childbirth: 1 in 39

Major health concerns in the country:
1) HIV prevalence rates are still very high, although they have started to decline in recent years
2) Extremely high numbers of maternal and infant deaths
3) A high burden of tropical parasitic and bacterial infections

GHI's main goals: Help the Kenyan government design a new health system based on preventive care, instead of disease-specific treatment; find cost savings in current programs; more than double the number of mothers who have access to a skilled birth attendant and to emergency obstetrical care

GHI on the ground: Some health problems that had been treated by specialists, including family planning, tuberculosis and HIV testing, are now being reintegrated into the caseload of health clinic workers, who can treat far more patients for less money. At the same time, more emergency obstetrical care facilities are planned and 7,000 nurses and community health workers will be hired to treat mothers and newborns.